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I fixed my car with vacuum cleaner parts!!!

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Yesterday my lady took the kids to see Open Season, some new kids movie. When she came back she told me the heat didn't work. A fuse I figure, but nope. I took the blower motor off and even though it was getting voltage, it didn't spin. After taking it apart I noticed that there was a ton of black soot covering everything inside. Turns out the brushes were gone!! I mean gone! Nothing left but a little copper wire. I tore into an Isuzu Rodeo parts vehicle I have but the motor was different, even though it too was a Denso product. I thought I would just use the brushes, but they broke during the removal. After digging around, the only other electrical motor I could find that was "junk" was in a Hoover vacuum cleaner that I kept forgetting to take to the dump. The brushes in it were twice the length and width, but with a hacksaw and file on my leatherman tool I got them down to size. I solered the wires on the terminals in the blower moter and installed it. It spun up great! But wouldn't move air, After removing the blower assembly again, I realized that somehow I got the wires mixed up and it was spinning backwards! Instead of tearing it down again, I just cut and switched the wires in the harness to the plug :D .

 

Parts is parts!!!

Awwwe man, now my husband won't get rid of anything!!:rolleyes: No really, that's pretty cool.

that's pretty good, and pretty impressive...you should add that to the "You know you're a soob owner if....." thread. :D

  • Author
that's pretty good, and pretty impressive...you should add that to the "You know you're a soob owner if....." thread. :D

 

 

You know your a sube owner if....your too broke(or cheap) to fix it with the correct parts!!!

Nice Idea :) But I wanna Ask you if you have taked photos of that and procedure, ´cos i´m havin´ same troubles with my white wagon, if so, Could you post ´em here?

Thank You! :burnout:

  • Author

Sorry, no pics. It was dark, raining, and getting colder.

Nice job man... i gotta remember to add a vacuum to my on the road emergency kit... which consits of: teflon tape, oil, adjustable wrench; nedle nose pliars, water, ductape, and of course.... a big rump roast hammer :headbang:

I must (shamefully?) admit that the only thing ive ever used the BFH on in my car (big effin' hammer) was the dying starter....

 

why is the BFH such a vital soob tool???? im missing something here....

"why is the BFH such a vital soob tool???? im missing something here...."

 

cause when you need one... you will then know why.....:banghead:

Oh yeah? Try this!

 

Fixed a hole in a carburator diaphram with a baloon and rubber cement.

 

Fixed a broken eyelet on a clutch cable by creating a hook with a wire hanger.

 

I used a Q-Tip to fix something, but I don't remember what, so I guess that doesn't count!!!:grin:

"why is the BFH such a vital soob tool???? im missing something here...."

 

cause when you need one... you will then know why.....:banghead:

I once had an old '78 Brat where you had to give the fuel pump a nice hard whack to make it pump.:rolleyes: By this time, the poor Brat was a gonner (terminal cancer), and I never bothered to replace it. Just "Kawhack.....Kawhack....Kawhack...Vroom!"

why is the BFH such a vital soob tool???? im missing something here....

 

I think its a vital tool for any car owner. Awesome for remodeling body panels, rusty bolt removal, starter motor and fuel pump quick fix tool and a theft deterant when wielded with a evil grin....

Not to mention the immense satisfaction to be had from smacking something with a BFH! :grin:

 

"If in doubt - give it a clout with a bloody big hammer" - Ancient Welsh Proverb

this sounds like something Jeff would try... maybe I just think that because his car sounded like a vacuum cleaner for some time.:grin:

Yesterday my lady took the kids to see Open Season, some new kids movie. When she came back she told me the heat didn't work. A fuse I figure, but nope. I took the blower motor off and even though it was getting voltage, it didn't spin. After taking it apart I noticed that there was a ton of black soot covering everything inside. Turns out the brushes were gone!! I mean gone! Nothing left but a little copper wire. I tore into an Isuzu Rodeo parts vehicle I have but the motor was different, even though it too was a Denso product. I thought I would just use the brushes, but they broke during the removal. After digging around, the only other electrical motor I could find that was "junk" was in a Hoover vacuum cleaner that I kept forgetting to take to the dump. The brushes in it were twice the length and width, but with a hacksaw and file on my leatherman tool I got them down to size. I solered the wires on the terminals in the blower moter and installed it. It spun up great! But wouldn't move air, After removing the blower assembly again, I realized that somehow I got the wires mixed up and it was spinning backwards! Instead of tearing it down again, I just cut and switched the wires in the harness to the plug :D .

 

Parts is parts!!!

 

Somethings not right?

 

A household vacuum is 120 volts AC.

A car is 12 volts DC?

 

Humm....that does not make sence:confused:

Carbon is carbon, as long as it fits in the brush holder. Voltage doesn't matter.

Well, I once built a battery terminal/fusible link assembly with flattened copper pipe. I guess that doesn't count here, though because it wasn't on a Subaru.

 

But the vacuum solenoid valve I fixed with an RCA audio connector and superglue was! :D

msteel,

I did the same thing once - made a battery terminal connector for a Nissan pickup by hammering flat a piece of 1/2" copper pipe, folding it around the terminal, and drilling a hole through the "tails" for a nut and bolt to hold the whole mess in place and attach it to the cable eyelet. It worked great for a couple of years until I finally got around to doing a proper repair.

Wait... a fusible link is ment to break... how would copper break... unless your talking really really really and i mean REALLY thin....

Wait... a fusible link is ment to break... how would copper break... unless your talking really really really and i mean REALLY thin....

 

he is talking about replacing the battery cable terminal on an assembled unit, with the cable integral with his fusible link block. this would make it rather difficult to replace the cable itself, so he just did what was later described to fabricate a terminal to bolt onto a new wire lug on the cable.

You know your a sube owner if....your too broke(or cheap) to fix it with the correct parts!!!

 

Sounds like you used the correct parts to me.

 

If it works, the part is always the correct part :D

  • Author

I have noticed that the fan doesn't turn as fast, but it still heats up the inside just fine. maybe my connections aren't good enough?

I must (shamefully?) admit that the only thing ive ever used the BFH on in my car (big effin' hammer) was the dying starter....

 

why is the BFH such a vital soob tool???? im missing something here....

 

like the sign i had hanging up at work said

 

"If you can't f@*# it with a little hammer.....get a big one!!!!"

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